Rod Stephens was known as the consummate seaman and
racing sailor. His racing career started in 1931 when
he and his brother Olin won the trans-Atlantic race
by two days with DORADE. When the brothers returned
to the United States after that victory, they were
given a ticket-tape parade down Broadway, the first
time that had ever been done to celebrate a sailing
victory.

Rod served on the afterguard of RANGER in 1937, where
he was in charge of all sails and gear and was responsible
for having things ready when wanted. It was during
his first America's Cup series that Rod began to develop
his reputation as a problem solver, which meant frequent
trips to the masthead or boomend, usually at awkward
moments. Rod generally saw the turning marks before
anyone else, as he carried glasses around his neck
constantly to see if anything had fouled aloft- Always
innovative, always active, he was often seen aloft
on yacht masts, either by Bosun's chair or going up,
hand over hand.

While his brother Olin was the design genius at Sparkman
& Stephens, Rod was the expert when it comes to
the design of rigging, fittings and making things
work.

Known for his muscle and agility, Rod Stephens was
always ready to go aloft to clear a halyard. His admirers
were inspired to refer to him as "Rod God".
He later sailed on COLUMBIA in 1958 and was the navigator
on CONSTELLATION in 1964. Rod Stephens' sailing excellence
was put to the supreme test during the Cup trials
in 1964. Halfway through the summer trials, AMERICAN
EAGLE held a commanding 21-0 lead. Rod Stephens is
credited with noticing small mistakes that the crew
of American Eagle began to make. He also noted that
CONSTELLATION gained slightly on each tack, leading
to a series of tacking duels that help defeat AMERICAN
EAGLE by 6-1 in the final trials. CONSTELLATION went
on to trounce SOVEREIGN in the Cup series of 1964.